Don't Worry, Florida, Medical Marijuana Will Be Back in Two Years and Will Probably Pass

Amendment 2 may have narrowly missed the 60 percent voter threshold needed to pass a constitutional amendment, but main sponsor John Morgan has already announced he'll place another medical marijuana amendment on the ballot in 2016. This time, there's an even better chance it will pass.

Morgan, a personal injury megalawyer, was disappointed about Tuesday's defeat.

"Medical marijuana in Florida got 500,000 more votes than Rick Scott and 600,000 more votes than Charlie," Morgan told WESH. "We lost because turnout wasn't what it could have been."

But the attorney said he'll start raising money to get a similar initiative on the ballot in just two short years. And his chances could look pretty good.

For one thing, polling has suggested that as much as 80 percent of Floridians support medical marijuana in theory, and for months it looked like the amendment would easily pass.

However, an unprecedented campaign to scare voters away from the amendment was financed almost totally by casino billionaire and conservative sugar daddy Sheldon Adelson. This pushed the amendment just below the necessary threshold.

Adelson, who is 81, has not signaled whether he'll finance a campaign again in 2016, but the pro-medical marijuana side has the natural advantage of time and inevitability on its side.

Morgan and the People United for Medical Marijuana can also craft tighter ballot language for next time, meaning detractors -- like most of the (misguided) editorial boards around the state -- will have fewer scare tactics available.

Florida's electorate is also likely to become more open to the idea as younger voters enter the electorate, and older voters -- well, let's not get morbid here.

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